ELLIS WALL DEFACED

Vandals, bird droppings and careless tourists visiting the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in its first six months have contributed to the defacement of the museum's American Immigrant Wall of Honor, officials said Saturday.

The waist-high stone wall is topped with copper panels that bear the names of more than 200,000 immigrants who passed through Ellis Island's Main Building on their way to America. The museum opened in September after undergoing extensive restoration, and for $100, donors can place the name of a forebear on the wall.The New York Post reported Saturday that the panels have been attacked by vandals who have scratched or painted their names on the panels in the six months since the museum opened.